Dear friends.
Recently,
I rediscovered the words of a song,
These Days.
By an Irish singer-songwriter,
Mick Hanley.
And these words have become the title of this reflection.
Taking it easy these days.
Is an idea that is well worth applying in our busy lives.
We have never had so many gadgets and apps.
That appear to offer us the prospect of a more relaxed existence.
We have smartphones.
And all the possibilities they offer.
These would be considered magic if they were seen by people only a generation or two ago.
And yet.
.
.
Think of how they have gained control of our attention and our time.
Email allows us to communicate instantly.
But it also entices us to check repeatedly for new emails.
And the senders expect an instant answer.
Which doesn't allow time for a considered and a more useful response.
In our ever busier lives,
We use electronic calendars.
We try to fit everything in without duplicating appointments.
But do we allow sufficient time for clear space?
Do we ever allocate time for doing nothing?
In our homes we have an increasing collection of labour-saving devices.
But sometimes the maintenance of these devices requires more labor than the work they were designed to replace.
A common thread running through many of these aids is that while they appear to reduce the tedium of the war.
And they sometimes do.
They frequently add a layer of setup,
Maintenance,
Or monitoring.
Procedures that can lose us the time that we were supposed to save.
In my own life,
I have this wish I always had to increase efficiency and to avoid duplication of effort.
Those who know me know that I will go to endless trouble to devise any means of avoiding duplication.
I once worked with a lady who was unimpressed with my efficiency efforts.
Her question to me was,
Tony,
What are we going to do with the time that we save?
It was clear to her that the time we saved would be spent doing even more work.
And certainly would not be directed to relaxation or meditation.
Notwithstanding all our inventions.
We seem to have less and less time for the important matter of taking it easy.
And stopping to smell the flowers.
Are there any lessons for us in these thoughts?
Firstly,
And thankfully,
We live in the real world.
With all its many advantages.
So we're not going to take a step back and surrender our labor-saving devices.
But we have to remember that all the aids to efficiency have a purpose other than setting us on an ever speedier treadmill.
We must stop to think.
To ask ourselves,
Where are we headed?
And what is our real purpose as we go through the days of our lives.
In the song which gave rise to this reflection.
Mick Hanley tells us that he used to go running round crazy.
Trying to be more than a man.
And he goes on to say that He's doing a lot more lately.
Doing the best that he can.
Let that idea be a lesson and an inspiration for us.
We can set our targets.
We can set our course.
But let us fix a good sprinkling of free time along the way.
Let us not be obsessive.
The journey should not be set in stone.
Notwithstanding all the possibilities offered by our labor-saving devices and apps.
We must still remember to ask,
Why me?
Before we say yes to yet another new proposal.
Yet another call upon our limited time.
And travelling more lightly.
Let us be ready to accept and enjoy.
The unexpected interruption when it comes along.
As it surely will.
Namaste.
